A few weeks ago I posted about all of the goodies that I found on sale for 50% off at the local thrift store. Is there anything more awesome than a sale on a sale???? One of the things that I picked up is a super ornate gold/brassy frame that cost me $2.50! Yay! I bought it with an eye to spray painting it white but I’ve kind of fallen in love with the tacky 80’s excess. (I think I’m showing my age here but I remember this from my very first home decoration project…Yup. In the 80’s.)

I already used the frame in my fall foyer re-do when I filled it with scrapbook paper. There it is off in the right corner….

Since Canadian Thanksgiving is over, I started working on Halloween decorations. One of the first things I did was to re-purpose the frame. Since the scrap booking fiasco of 2009 (where I decided to scrapbook, bought a zillion supplies and failed to complete one book), I’ve had, literally, tons, of scrapbook paper laying around in the craft room.

For this project I took a purple, black, and white background piece of scrap book paper, added a doilie and used black chipboard letters to spell “BOO” (also lounging in the craft room for the past three years), and made a cute little picture that became the inspiration for the rest of Halloween decor.

Total cost? Still $2.50 and took less than 20 minutes to finish. Gotta love a project that you can finish while the babies nap and still have time for tea on the sofa. 🙂

If you’re from the deep South you’re probably familiar with Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q. They’re a popular Southern Bar-B-Q chain and their food is sooooo yummy! We always go at least once when I’m home for a visit. I would go every day if I could!

They serve a big basket of these little muffins (free!!) at every meal and they are so good that sometimes I’m full before my meal even arrives. I’ve tried countless times to get the recipe from the staff but it’s top secret. Since I currently live in Canada there’s no way I can go months between fixes so I went online and found a variety of possibilities for the recipe. I tinkered with a bunch of recipes until I got them as close to the real deal as I could. There is no replacing Jim N’ Nick’s but I think I’ve come up with a close copycat.

Combine biscuit mix, flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk egg, milk, butter, and vanilla together. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, using the whisk quickly and gently stir to blend.

Add shredded cheddar and stir but be careful not to over mix.

Spoon into greased muffin trays and bake in the center of the oven or higher for 15-20 minutes depending on how hot your oven gets. Check every few minutes as they burn quickly. Let cool at least 5 minutes before removing from muffin trays. (This is the hardest part!!!)

NOTE- I have never found Jiffy muffin mixes here in Canada so I usually stock up when I’m visiting the States.

I always laugh at the professionals I work with who tell me how organized I am. Both social workers and the occupational therapist involved with the boys were here last week and all commented that things run well because I’m so organized. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha! They clearly have never watched me search for my keys (daily) and I haven’t shared that I’ve lost our passports somewhere in this house. ( I put them somewhere “safe” just before Baby L’s first birthday party started….never to be seen again!)

Having said that….I love “organizey” things. I love labels and baskets and shelves and printables and containers….Ok, you get the idea. I’m convinced that I’ll finally find the secret to not losing things. Or stop cramming papers in places with an idea that I’ll remember where they are. And because I’m super excited about this blog the same sort thing is starting to happen. I’ll be driving along (or sleeping) when an idea for a post pops up. Sometimes I scribble it down on a piece of paper but mostly I have random thoughts floating around in my head. Also, I can’t find the piece of paper when I need it.

This morning I started a google search for blog organization tips and found the most marvelous free downloads to print out! Beckie over at Infarrantly Creative is my kind of brilliant! What a great site! The whole blog is full of tips and ideas and I’ve added the blog to my read list. But the best thing I found are the downloadable blog organizers. Yay!

﻿

The weekly organizer

Monthly organizer

I’ve downloaded and printed a bunch of copies and set out to decoupage a binder to hold the organizers. I’m too thrifty cheap to actually spend money making a spiral notebook but I love the way the their book turned out.

The binder was just a leftover binder from long ago training that was laying around (unread and unused). Decoupaged some craft paper and here it is

I am always browsing the thrift stores and Kijiji (Canadian version of Craigslist) for “treasures”. I’ve had my eye on a pair of lamps at Homesense for the past few weeks but just can’t bring myself to pay $59.99 for a lamp. (Plus tax y’all, which here in Ontario is 13%!!!!). Heck, no! So I was pretty darn happy to find a pair of brass lamps on Kijiji for $15 for the set! So happy in fact that I rushed them home and spray painted them with Krylon’s Oil Rubbed Bronze before I could take the “before” picture! Doh!

Sadly, no before and after pictures today….but here they are after a couple of coats of spray paint and the shades I had leftover from when I re-placed the shades of my bedroom lamps. (I knew they would come in handy sooner or later!)

A little spray paint, some leftover shades, and I finally have lamps in the living room.

Nothing says Thanksgiving or Christmas like our family’s favorite sweet potato casserole. It is sooooo yummy and with a praline topping it should almost be classified as desert. This recipe made it’s way to Canada from Alabama years ago, and it’s been a staple at most of our holiday meals since then. This is a pretty popular recipe down South but not very common in Canada. It’s always a hit a potluck parties and the recipe was actually pinned to the information wall at our office! (That was clearly before Pinterest even existed.)

It has a few steps but it’s totally worth it. Lately, I’ve been making the entire recipe ahead of time and refrigerating overnight. I just pop it in the oven 30 to 45 before dinner is served. FYI- I always double the topping. Because pecans and sugar and all that good stuff.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:3]

Be prepared to hand out the recipe. Because, hands down, the best way to eat a vegetable is when it’s under a praline coating. I heart you, hidden vegetables.

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Jenna is the creative mind behind 24cottonwoodlane.com and Cottonwood Lane Designs along with a host of other websites. Jenna is a former social worker turned entrepreneur. She currently runs a variety of online businesses, including coaching clients to help them find their passion as well as to start their on online businesses. Her most creative project to date is the upcoming launch of The Single Mom Collective, launching in July 2017. She has a borderline obsession with flamingos, traveling, and making things pretty. She is the proud foster/grandmother to two little boys with FASD and teaches college in her spare time. Read More…